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Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Three Thats, Caterpillar Liquefaction, The Electrician, And Impeachment Banter

1.  This first one has me in mild awe of this sentence that has three 'that's in a row, correctly.  

From New Republic article on Frosh* Member** of Congress Katie Porter:
"She discovered as much during her teaching days, when students declared the subjects she taught to be “too hard”—“my classes were like, ‘oh my God, what even is that that that lady teaches?!’”—but she remains devoted to breaking the concepts down."
The article is worth reading to get to know this interesting young Congress member.

*Frosh is a gender neutral substitute for Freshman
**Member of Congress is gender neutral for Congressman or Congresswoman (Just plain Rep. can work too, but it could be confused with a state rep)
And while I'm at it, I'll mention a term that many people still use - "to man (ie a booth)" when a non-sexist alternative for most cases exists:  "to staff".


2.  Under, "whoa, I didn't know that!"

From an LA Times article about Art Shapiro,  a 73 year old professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis  who has been tracking butterflies in ten locations in California every two weeks as long as the weather permits.  He's been doing that for 47 years.

"Butterflies are not the only insects that go through a dramatic metamorphosis, but they may be the most well-studied.
Even so, as recently as 50 years ago scientists weren’t sure how this transformation occurred, but in the last few decades researchers learned that between the caterpillar and adult stage the animal’s body liquefies inside the pupa and then reorganizes itself to form the butterfly. Only the nervous system stays intact."

3.  We had the electricians out to convert light to LED's,  work on our out-of-date electrical panel, and other things around the house - including dealing with the wire cut accidentally by the floor guy.  So here's a picture I couldn't resist of one electrician and his shadow.



4.  Impeachment Quotes

After Rep. Jim Jordan said he wanted to question "the person who started all this"  Rep. Welch replied:  (from Talking Points Memo)
“I say to my colleague, I’d be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify,” Welch said.
“President Trump is welcome to take a seat right there,” 
This was a rare bit of snark from the Democrats today.  There was one more spot where I was hoping for one more.   Here's part of Rep. Maloney's questioning: (from Rev.com's transcript)

Patrick Maloney: (00:25)
So when you’re top 1% of your class at West Point, you probably get your pick of assignments, but you picked the infantry didn’t you, sir?
Bill Taylor: (00:35)
I did, sir. Yes, sir.
Patrick Maloney: (00:36)
You were a rifle company commander?
Bill Taylor: (00:38)
Sir.
Patrick Maloney: (00:39)
Where’d you serve?
Bill Taylor: (00:41)
In Vietnam.
Patrick Maloney: (00:41)
Did you see combat in Vietnam, sir?
Bill Taylor: (00:44)
I did. 

I was hoping he'd ask one more question:

Patrick Maloney:  Did you have bone spurs?

But he didn't, and it's probably just as well he didn't.  

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